Kiseki
by David Shigure
Summary: Ichika Orimura thought he was the only boy who could pilot an IS. That is, until Shinji Ikari transfers into the same class as him, alongside the fiery Asuka Langley Soryu and the mysterious Rei Ayanami, all from the military organisation, NERV. At first, Ichika is glad there's another male to share the burden with. But something is conspiring behind the scenes...


Hello, it's been a long time! I realise I have a **lot** of catching up to do with regards to old stories, but I was suddenly struck with inspiration and just had to get the beginning of this crossover story out there. As you can tell, it's been a while since I wrote _anything_, so it's also a way for me to get back into the swing of things. Blame uni for the lack of writings recently, big pain in the ass. Also, the Evangelion characters in this story are based on the story 'The Shinji Ikari Raising Project' spin-off story, where Shinji hasn't suffered incredible amounts of mental abuse and Rei is a lot more emotional, and Asuka is... Asuka? Anyway, enjoy!

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Kiseki

Chapter 1: Welcome to IS Academy, NERVlings

It had been a week since he had enrolled in the IS Academy. He still wasn't used to all the staring, but Ichika Orimura was slowly getting the hang of attending an all-girls academy as the sole male. He was relieved in the fact that he knew someone at least. His childhood friend, Houki Shinonono was a classmate, although the fact that they hadn't seen each other in six years seemed to have developed an emotional gap between them.

On top of that, he had managed to incur the wrath of the British representative candidate, Cecilia Alcott, and had agreed to a dual the following Monday, although he still wasn't sure why she had taken such a quick disliking to him. He had heard the British were quick to defend their pride, and he may or may not have said a few insensitive things to escalate the situation, which looking back at now, he felt like kicking himself.

He'd heard students with personal IS units were pretty much the elite, and he knew next to nothing about how to control an IS. Asking for Houki's help hadn't done much either. As soon as she had learned about his lack of Kendo training in the years they had been apart, she had pretty much blew up and starting intensely retraining him.

He was currently in class, looking over the thick textbook he was supposed to have studied over summer break. The information was overwhelming, and he was really struggling trying to absorb it all.

"Okay, butts in seats. Homeroom is starting." Their homeroom teacher had turned out to be none other then Ichika's own older sister, Chifuyu Orimura. Not that she'd let him call her that at school. It had to be 'Miss Orimura' or he risked getting beaten.

"Now, I have some important information for all of you. We have several new transfer students today. They've just transferred from the Japanese branch of NERV, which I'm sure all of you are aware is the global organization dedicated to military research and defense. NERV work in a partnership with IS organizations over the world, and as such, all three students have their own personal IS units for data evaluation purposes. Be kind to them." Chifuyu looked towards the door. "You may come in."

The door opened, and two girls walked in, followed by a timid-looking boy. The class suddenly fell silent in shock. Ichika looked at the male in blissful relief.

"I forgot to mention, but due to his circumstances at NERV, there will be an additional male student joining the IS Academy. He will be placed in this class so Ichika can show him the ropes of how to deal with the Academy. Is that understood Ichika?" Chifuyu glared at him, as if to dare him to argue.

"U-understood."

"Good. Now, please introduce yourselves to the class." The red-haired girl stood up straight and nodded. She reminded Ichika of Houki, an angry expression mixed with beauty.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Asuka Langley Soryu. I would like to be able to get along with everyone."

The blue-haired girl to her right spoke up next. "My name is Rei Ayanami. I look forward to working with you."

She seemed a lot more soft-spoken and quiet compared to Asuka. Ichika sensed she was the mysterious type, and probably wasn't one to speak much.

Finally, the boy started to speak, with the girls hanging on to his every word. "Hello, my name is Shinji Ikari. It's nice to meet all of you." He was clearly nervous, the way he spoke sounded like he was more afraid of the girls then anything. Ichika could understand how he felt, it was exactly the same the first time he had entered the class.

"I want you all to make sure these three are treated kindly, and try not to bother Shinji too much. Their history with NERV is top secret, nobody is allowed to ask about their work. As for seats..." Whilst Chifuyu organized seats for them, Ichika began to think. Shinji and the others already had personal IS units for themselves, and with the duel with Cecilia coming up fast, they might be able to help him with training. It was a golden opportunity.

"Finally, Ichika. Due to your status as one of the only boys at the academy, as well as one not tied with military issues, the Japanese government are providing you with your own personal IS unit as well. It will be delivered within a few days, so now's the time to study up as much as you can. I believe it would be a good idea to get the help of your new classmates in this matter, partly as I'm sure Miss Alcott will be reluctant to show an enemy how to control your system." Cecilia nodded, smiling maliciously. Sighing, Ichika silently agreed.

The first lesson of the day was taught by Miss Maya Yamada, their shy teacher for most subjects relating to the IS, with a noticeably large bust. She seemed clumsy and air headed for the most part, but her knowledge of the IS was staggering. In the middle of the class, Asuka sat in front of Shinji, with Rei placed near a window. Leaning round, Asuka turned to face Shinji.

"Hey. This stuff is all baby school crap. Why do we have to relearn it?" She whispered fiercely.

"I don't know. I guess because we still just freshman, and the other students haven't had to have forced-learned this stuff ages ago. Our situation is unique, I guess..."

"I'm bored crazy!" She glared at him for a few minutes. "I bet you're loving it here. Surrounded by beautiful girls, with only that Ichika idiot to contend with." He turned a little red, turning away quickly.

"I'm not loving it. They're all staring, and it's creepy. But..." His face took on a softer expression. "I like this place. We're safe here. NERV was nice too, but the missions were terrifying. At least here, we can live a little more peacefully."

Asuka smiled weakly too. She was well aware of what he was talking about, the hell that they had to go through before coming here. Shinji, herself, even Rei, the girl who annoyed her on every fundamental level had been through horrifying things, and at least now they had a chance to lead a normal, high school life.

"I guess that's true..." Glancing to the front of the class, she whispered again. "So what about Ichika? We'll need to teach him about IS won't we? Is that okay?"

Shinji looked at the boy in question. He was sweating profusely looking over his textbook whilst Miss Orimura glared at him. Looking around the class, he noticed two of the girls sitting by the windows also glaring at him.

"So long as we don't teach him anything too dangerous, and enough to be able to fight in the duel, I think it'll be okay. He could probably really help, he's already been through this situation already, it'd be nice to know how to deal with all these girls..." Asuka glanced back at him angrily, to which he quickly added, "For defensive purposes, of course."

Before long the bell rang to signal end of class. Having survived another lesson, Ichika figured it was time to get to know the new kids, and try his luck trying to get them to help him.

"Hello." He greeted them as he walked up to them. "My name is Ichika Orimura, it's great to have you guys here." He noticed Asuka's expression was clearly distrustful. He guessed she was being cautious, and in a strange sort of way, it relieved him. She was different from the other girls that would never leave him alone, so he felt he could drop his guard a little.

Shinji smiled and returned the greeting, "Thank you. You can call me Shinji. This here is Asuka. From what I heard from homeroom, you need help learning how to pilot an IS?"

Ichika smiled grimly. "That I do. Before coming here, I knew almost nothing about the IS besides what the public know. If you could help me, I'm sure I would learn loads from pilots who have been piloting for years."

"And what makes you think we'd help you?" Asuka growled at him. He'd been right in assuming she was just like Houki. Aggressive with a short-fuse temper.

"With your assistance, I would like to help you around the academy. It's a huge place, and I know I got lost a lot in my first few days here. On top of that, I've worked hard trying to get to know my classmates, I'd like us to become friends, if possible." Asuka grunted and looked away, whilst Shinji laughed nervously as her reaction.

"Don't mind her, she's always like that. We would love to be friends, and I don't mind at all helping you become better with the IS. If it was alright, I would like to get Rei to help as well. Between the three of us, we're all good at different things, and it would be interesting to see what you're adept at."

Ichika looked over to the girl staring out of the window, in the seat behind Houki. Her light blue hair and deep crimson eyes seemed to be on a completely different planet, almost in an ethereal sense.

"Of course, she can come too. In exchange, I'll introduce you to my childhood friend, the girl in the seat in front of Ayanami, Houki Shinonono. As much as she dislikes the idea, her sister, Tabane Shinonono is the creator of the original IS unit. She's not the easiest person to get along with, but she's a good friend." As soon as he mentioned Tabane, both Shinji and Asuka's eyes lit up. It disappeared almost as quickly as it had come, and Shinji began to laugh again nervously.

"It seems we have a similar problem of dealing with angry girls, right Ichika? But we'd love to meet Miss Shinonono. We can begin your training of IS after school today, if that's okay?"

Nodding, Ichika grinned. "After school sounds good to me. I'll see you then." And as he wandered back to his own chair, Asuka rounded on Shinji.

"Since when have you been so talkative?! And what's all this about having to deal with angry girls!?"

"I j-just felt we were the same, I didn't mean anything by it! But more importantly..." Shinji's eyes wandered over to Houki's chair. "It looks like we found Miss Shinonono's younger sister much quicker then I thought we would."

"Do you think we should contact her today?" Asuka glanced over to the person on topic. Shinji shook his head.

"It's still too early. We don't know enough yet. Besides, our new friend already promised us an introduction, we might as well wait until then. It might seem strange if we go to her now."

"I guess you're right." Asuka opened her mouth, as thought she was about to say something, a desperate look flashing across her face. She quickly closed it again and looked away.

"What is it, Asuka?"

"Shinji, I..." She began to look embarassed. "Don't leave me alone here. And... I'm sorry for being an 'angry girl' all of the time." She quickly turned around, her face bright red. Shinji looked utterly confused, and felt more then a little worried.

"I-It's okay. I won't leave you alone here, I promise."

By the windows, Rei could vaguely pick up their conversation. She wore a small smile on her face.

"It's about time."


End file.
